Lima: Historic Downtown, Catacombs & Miraflores Tour
Description
Best introductory tour in Lima that shows you the colonial and modern look of the city. Discover the best experience exploring Miraflores, San Isidro and Lima Historical Center. A short but great introduction to Lima for first-time visitors.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Explore the main tourist attractions of Lima Historical Center, San Isidro and Miraflores. Understand the different times that Lima had to pass to become one of the biggest, recognized and most notable cities of South America. Start this experience exploring the "Malecon" of Miraflores district, a beautiful walkway surrounded by beautiful gardens, enormous appartment complex and breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. Stop at the Love Park and enjoy taking pictures of its huge kissing sculpture, mosaic walls and snack stores. See Larcomar Shopping Mall and visit the Kennedy Park, the heart of Miraflores where you can feel the living culture of this district. Later, explore a pre-Inca building called Huaca Pucllana, a huge complex made of clay and mud considered a ceremonial center from the Lima culture.
Once we arrive at San Isidro, the financial district of Lima, we will stop by the Olive Park, an enormous park with more than 100 olive trees and impressive mansions with baroque architecture and adorned with beautiful flowers and plants.
Once in the downtown area, see the great exhibition park, the Lima's Art Museum, the Italian Museum and the Justice Palace among other notable buildings. Explore San Martin Square, declared Cultural Heritage for Humanity and considered nowadays as a great symbol of the Independence surrounded by colonial buildings and beautiful gardens. Walk by Union Street and feel yourself like a local in one of the most popular and commercial areas of Lima. Keep walking, explore the Main Square of Lima and admire magnificent buildings such as the Government Palace, the Archbishop Palace and of course, the Cathedral of Lima, the biggest in all Peru. Drink some shots of Pisco and taste peruvian liquors at a local drinks shop and finally, visit the San Francisco Convent and its famous Catacombs. Discover a secret part of Lima underground with corridors full of history and explore great locations such as the library, corridors with marvelous paintings and the great main cloister.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
• For pickups and drop offs from/to Lima Jorge Chavez Airport, Port of Callao and nearby hotels in Callao and San Miguel Area, please consider an extra of US$ 15.00 extra per person (To be paid directly to your tour guide or driver).
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Reviews(105)
Vilma was super informative and could answer any question we had as we walked through downtown Lima. She had perfect pacing to let us see everything and linger at sights we thought were stunning while beating the crowd to all the cathedrals and buildings. She also gave us great advice of where to get coffee and a snack throughout the day. Overall just a fun and informative day around Lima!
Tour itself I would give 4 stars. It was good enough but did not include everything stated - specifically, we did not got to Kennedy Park and did not have a pisco tasting. We did not have bad traffic and were dropped off before the 4 hrs end time, so it wasn't just that we ran out of time. An additional star was removed because the company does not manage bookings well. I booked over 3 weeks in advance and included our pickup address. Within 24 hours of the tour, I received a message stating that they would charge extra for our pickup location and wanted to change the time. One of the main reasons for choosing this tour over others was that this tour did not have an extra pickup fee when I made the booking (one of the better rated options on Viator specifically gave a message when entering the address that it was out of the pickup area and would incur additional cost). At this point, it was too late to cancel without penalty and arrange a different tour.
Maria was a phenomenal guide. It took us through all the key spots of Lima . She was extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. We could not have asked for a better tour guide or schedule.
We loved this tour and got a great feel for the city. Our guide and driver were prompt and friendly and our guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Definitely recommend this experience. We sat this first love tree, the natural, the catacombs and love park.
It was great once we arrived at the city central & historic area. The traffic is horrible coming & going no matter what day so be prepared & be patient. There are many street that are pedestrian only which is nice. Do not go on the 28th of the month. There is a religious event at the catholic cathedral each month on that day & jammed with people.
Excellent overview of Lima if you don't have much time. Maria was excellent and very knowledgeable. We saw lots of the city which is very large, we hit all the spots. Mike
This was a good way to get a brief overview of Lima. It is not easy to get around such a busy city with public transportation not convenient. Our tour guide and driver did a great job mainly showing us the historic downtown buildings.
The tour guide herself was friendly and tried her best, but we experienced several issues that unfortunately make me unable to recommend this tour. First, the company changed the start time from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. by messaging me at 11:30 p.m. the night before. I agreed to the change, and as a concession they agreed to drop us off in Barranco at the end of the tour. The biggest issue was that we spent most of the tour stuck in traffic. As a result, we did not experience much of what was advertised in the tour description. There was no stop at Kennedy Cat Park, no time to enjoy a pisco sour in the Historic Center, and we reached the Love Park extremely late—so late that it was too dark to get photos of the famous kissing statue. We also skipped the olive tree stop in San Isidro entirely. The Pucllana Site Museum is literally a drive by. Added zero to the tour. To make things worse, near the end of the tour they attempted to back out of the agreed-upon drop off in Barranco, claiming the driver had an “emergency” and could only take us halfway. I explained that this felt inappropriate and too coincidental. Only after insisting did they honor the original plan and drop us off where they had promised. To be clear, none of this was the tour guide’s fault. The issue lies with how the tour is organized. The company needs to plan better or avoid offering this route on days when traffic makes it impossible to complete the advertised itinerary
Great city tour of Lima. Maria (guide) and Victor (driver) were great! Maria’s knowledge of city’s history and architecture was amazing. She was very attentive to every little aspect of the tour. If you are looking for a half day excursion, this is the one! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
Immensely enjoyed this tour and highly recommended. Maria provided a comprehensive and superb guide and information. Top notch and highly knowledgeable!!
